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29 Mar 2013

Jeremy Jordan and Vincent Agnello at the press preview for the Paper Mill staging of Newsies.

Photo by Krissie Fullerton

Newsies, the Tony Award-winning Disney musical about a group of high-flying newsboys who take on powerful newspaper giants in 1899 New York City, celebrates its one-year anniversary on Broadway March 29 at the Nederlander Theatre. Playbill.com takes a look back.

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Before Newsies opened on Broadway, the musical — which features a Tony Award-winning score by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman and a Tony-nominated book by Harvey Fierstein — made its world premiere at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse, where it was met with a massive fan base who crossed their fingers for a Broadway transfer.

The production starred Jeremy Jordan, who would go on to earn a 2012 Tony nomination for his performance as rebellious paperboy Jack Kelly, opposite Kara Lindsay, who made her Broadway debut with Newsies, as headstrong female journalist Katherine Plumber.

The original cast of the Broadway production — which began previews March 12, 2012 — featured Jordan (Bonnie & Clyde) as Jack Kelly, John Dossett (2003 revival of Gypsy) as Joseph Pulitzer, Lindsay (Little House on the Prairie) as Katherine Plumber, Capathia Jenkins (The Civil War; The Look of Love; Caroline, or Change; and Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me) as Medda, Ben Fankhauser (Spring Awakening national tour) as Davey, Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Mary Poppins) as Crutchie and Lewis Grosso (Mary Poppins) and Matthew Schechter (Elf) alternating the role of Les. (Jordan, Dossett, Lindsay, Fankhauser and Keenan-Bolger all reprised the roles they created in the Paper Mill Playhouse production.)

The production took home 2012 Tony Awards for Best Choreography (Christopher Gattelli) and Best Original Score (Menken and Feldman) and was nominated for Best Actor (Jordan), Best Book (Fierstein), Best Direction (Jeff Calhoun), Best Orchestrations (Daniel Troob), Best Scenic Design (Tobin Ost and Sven Ortel) and Best Musical.

The current cast includes Corey Cott as Jack Kelly, Dossett as Joseph Pulizter, Lindsay as Katherine Plumber, LaVon Fisher-Wilson as Medda Larkin, Fankhauser as Davey, Andy Richardson as Crutchie and Joshua Colley and Nicholas Lampiasi alternating the role of Les.